Dealership throughput forecast to slip for third year

U.S. dealership throughput — the average number of new-vehicle sales per dealership — is expected to slip 2.9 percent to 920 vehicles in 2018 from 947 in 2017, automotive consulting firm Urban Science predicts.

If so, 2018 would have the third consecutive decline in per-store sales, Urban Science’s annual Automotive Franchise Activity Report said.

U.S. dealership new-vehicle throughput slipped 1.9 percent in 2017 to 947, from 965 in 2016 and from a high of 966 in 2015, as sales fell and the number of dealerships edged up.